Vancouver evokes infamous sports riots

A couple appears to be preparing to make love, not war, in an ironic image from the Vancouver riots.

The city of Vancouver put its worst foot forward on Wednesday, rioting into the night after the Canucks' loss to the Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

Nearly 100 people were arrested and almost 150 injured in a widespread disturbance that included the burning of 15 cars and vandalism of approximately 50 businesses. Total damages are expected to run well into the millions of dollars.

In addition to widespread vandalism and massive fires, the Associated Press reported that "rivers of poured-out alcohol, broken glass and trash made navigating the streets treacherous" in Vancouver.

Stay classy, British Columbia.

If all that wasn't bad enough, consider that Vancouver also rioted following the Canucks' Game 7 loss to the Rangers in the 1994 Stanley Cup finals -- a game which was played in New York.

However, Vancouver is hardly the first city to erode into disorder following a major sporting event. That's why Page 2 advises you to put on your riot gear and grab a couple canisters of tear gas as we head into the fray to compile a list of the most infamous sports disturbances in history ... and we promise not to make any jokes about these guys.

Just who were those people? And how did they get caught up in such a passionate kiss, right there in the middle of the riots in Vancouver, British Columbia? There was anger and violence all around them -- the Vancouver Canucks had just lost to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of hockey's Stanley Cup finals.

The picture of them, by Vancouver freelance photographer Richard Lam, has gone viral on the Web. One headline called it "love among the ruins."

The young lovers -- if Australia's Channel 9 has the story right -- are Scott Jones, 29, from the Australian city of Perth, and his Canadian girlfriend, Alex Thomas. The Vancouver Sun said Thomas is a student at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

Scott was outed by his family, according to Channel 9. His father, Brett, posted the picture on Facebook with the line, "This is my Son.

 

"Hows (sic) that for making love not war!"

His mother, Megan Jones, was interviewed by Australian news media.

"It is something he would do, that's our boy," she was quoted as saying on Channel 9. "He has always lived in his own world, he's special like that. He doesn't always connect with what going on around him."

She said her son was doing standup comedy while traveling in Canada.

"I knew it was him because he doesn't have a lot of clothes with him and he always puts on the same thing."

Lam, the photographer, said he didn't think about the picture because there was such violence around him. Almost 150 people required hospital treatment and close to 100 were arrested in the riots that followed Wednesday night's game.

Maria Sharapova shows off her washboard abs in tiny sports bra

She’s a former world No. 1 in her sport but Maria Sharapova proved in her new Nike campaign that she’s not bad at modelling either.The Russian tennis player showed off her rock hard abs and bulging biceps while she was being photographed by Annie Leibovitz.The stunning 24-year-old, who is also an American citizen, posed in tiny blue hot pants and a white sports bra while holding an abdominal crunch position.

From left, Australian surfer Laura Enever, British runner Perri Shakes-Drayton, American footballer Hope Solo, Li Na of China, Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella, Maria Sharapova and American runner Allyson Felix

Fellow tennis player Li Na of China joins Sharapova in the campaign, alongside runners Allyson Felix of the US and British Perri Shakes-Drayton, American footballer Hope Solo, Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella and Australian surfer Laura Enever.Li Na joins Sharapova, alongside runners Allyson Felix and Perri Shakes-Drayton, football player Hope Solo, dancer Sofia Boutella and surfer Laura Enever in the group portrait.

In the group photograph the star models Nike jogging bottoms and a loose grey T-shirt.

 

Sharapova looking glamorous at the annual pre-Wimbledon party last year held at the Roof Gardens in West London, left, and playing at Wimbledon last year, right

Bjorn Borg in Paris to watch Rafael Nadal try to match his six French titles

At Wimbledon four years ago, he nobly congratulated Roger Federer on matching his five straight titles and now everyone here is hoping he will be at Roland Garros this afternoon to shake hands with Rafael Nadal should the Spaniard equal his landmark of six French Open crowns.

Not that Nadal is in the slightest preoccupied with all the talk that, should he beat Federer, he would cement his claims to being the greatest clay-court player in history, even ahead of the Swede.
“Seriously, I don’t think about that. A lot of respect for the great Bjorn but I am only focusing on trying to play well,” said Nadal after his semi-final triumph over Andy Murray. “For me it’s much more important to win Roland Garros again than to equal Bjorn.”
Nadal turned 25 on Friday and is now at that point in his phenomenal career when tennis historians are already trying to assess his place in the pantheon.
There are those who argue, as an expert panel assembled by French sports paper L’Equipe did last year, that Nadal is already the best clay-courter. After all, the man who lost just once at Roland Garros (to Robin Soderling) now has a better winning percentage than Borg, who lost twice to the same man – Italian Adriano Panatta – during his 1974-1981 reign where he won his six titles in eight Opens. Nadal is going for six from seven.
The Spaniard has already won more career titles on clay (31 to Borg’s 30) and victory over Federer for the fifth time at Roland Garros today — including the fourth time in a final — could clinch the argument, considering his serial Swiss victim’s claim on being the best in history.
Of course, each major title the Spaniard annexes adds fuel to the belief that we should look beyond the claims for clay-court supremacy and consider that, as John McEnroe suggested last year: “There is an argument that Rafael Nadal may be the greatest player ever, eventually. Even possibly now.”
Borg himself still believes Federer is history’s best but each time Nadal improves his impressive head-to-head against the Swiss — he currently leads 16-8 — it becomes harder to defend that thesis. And the Swede is under no illusions that Nadal may well consign his own records to ancient history by eventually winning “seven or eight French titles”.
For while Borg hung up his wooden racket at 26, weary of the grind of the circuit and unable to come to terms with life as world No 2 in the shadow of McEnroe, Nadal’s hunger for more glory in his 26th year shows no sign of being satiated.
The Spanish press have been a bit worried about him here, saying that he has not looked happy, but after his victory over Murray, he evidently felt it was time to put them right as they asked what the difference was between the 19-year-old Rafa, who burst into Paris without a seeming care in the world to win the title at the first attempt, and the 25-year-old serial champion.
“Well, when you are a kid and you win here for the first time, what you think is 'Oh, OK, I’ve won one match’. You might think it’s going to be easier in my career now that I’ve won titles but that’s not at all the case. It’s a lie. If you win now, there’s even more pressure on you.
“And when you win, you want to win more. It’s always renewed. The appetite is still there. It’s an incredible feeling and I’d like to continue on the same path.” But don’t tell him he is the best there ever was because he will tell you who owns that accolade. It is the bloke who will stand across the net today.
“I know how good he is. What Roger has done in his career is impossible to repeat for any of today’s players,” is Nadal’s eve-of-final tribute. “You are more surprised than me that Roger is in the final.”

source:telegraph.co.uk

Sania Mirza, Vesnina lose women's doubles final

India's Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina lost in straight sets to Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in the women's doubles final at the French Open on Friday.The seventh-seeded Indo-Russian pair lost 4-6, 3-6 to the unseeded Hlavackova and Hradecka in a match that lasted around 82 minutes at Roland Garros.This victory helped the Czech duo, who became the sixth unseeded team to capture a major in three decades and are the second unseeded French Open finalists in 30 years, to improve their head-to-head record against Sania and Elena to 1-1.

The Indo-Russian were broken in the third and fifth game of the first set and were trailing 5-1. However, Sania and Elena capitalised on few errors committed from the Czechs to bridge the gap to 5-4.In the end, Hradecka kept his cool and held her serve to go one-up.In the second set, Hlavackova and Hradecka broke the seventh seeds twice after exchanging early breaks to pocket the match.

Elena said reaching the slam final was a great experience and hoped to win a Grand Slam title soon."I thank Sania, our team and everyone who supported us. It has been a great week for us and a great experience. I am sure we will have more wins on our way and I am hopeful we will make it someday," said the Russian.

Federer to meet Nadal in French Open 2011 final

Roger Federer defeated Novak Dokovic, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, to reach the finals of the French Open Friday and snap Djokovic's winning streak of 43 consecutive matches dating to last year.Backed by many in a cheering crowd among 15,000 spectators at Roland Garros, Federer overcame a series of mis-hits, which bedeviled him throughout the match, often resulting in balls hit dramatically off the court.

Djokovic, whose last previous loss was to Federer in December in London, started to recover from is two-sets-to-none disadvantage, but could not contain his Swiss opponent in the final moments, when both slashed forehand and backhands before a spellbound audience.

Federer, seeded third, will face Rafael Nadal in the final on Sunday. Nadal defeated Andy Murray of Britain in straight sets in the other semifinal.

Dwyane Wade on Taj Gibson dunk: 'I knew I didn't have a chance'

Dwyane Wade doesn't get dunked on very often. In fact, the Miami Heat superstar said it hadn't happened all year going into the Eastern Conference finals.But the two-handed jam that Chicago's Taj Gibson slammed over him early in the second quarter Sunday was so spectacular, even Wade had to admit it probably wouldn't be the last time it happened."It was a very athletic play," Wade said after the Heat's 103-82 loss. "I knew I didn’t have a chance when I started back-pedaling when I saw him take off. It won’t be the last time I get dunked on."

Sergio Busquets cleared to play in Champions League final!

Sergio Busquets has been cleared following Real Madrid's allegations of racist abuse

Uefa has dismissed allegations of racist abuse made against Sergio Busquets, paving the way for the Barcelona midfielder to play in next week's Champions League final against Manchester United.The 22-year-old was accused of making racist remarks by Real Madrid during the controversial first leg of their Champions League semi-final last month.

Real published a video on their website ahead of the second leg, with a subtitle alleging Busquets had made a comment towards the wing-back Marcelo during Barça's 2-0 win at the Bernabéu.Uefa last week opened disciplinary proceedings against Busquets, with the case being dealt with over the weekend. A short statement on Barça's official website confirmed the midfielder has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

"Sergio Busquets will play in the Champions League final," said the statement. "Uefa has notified Barcelona they have dismissed the claims of Real Madrid."

The footage on Madrid's website was posted the day before the second leg, which finished in a 1-1 draw to send Pep Guardiola's side through to the final 3-1 on aggregate. It showed Busquets appearing to direct a comment at Marcelo while covering his mouth with his hands, with Madrid alleging the player said "mono, mono" – Spanish for "monkey, monkey". Uefa dismissed the claims "due to a lack of strong and convincing evidence", it said.

The incident was one of several in an ill-tempered tie between the two sides, with both clubs lodging complaints to Uefa after the first leg. Madrid were unhappy with the behaviour of the opposing players and the red card shown to Pepe, while Barça protested over José Mourinho's post-match comments alluding to favours from Uefa in big Champions League games and questioning the Catalan club's relationship with the European governing body.

The complaints were dismissed by Uefa, with Mourinho handed a five-game European ban for his outbursts.

Barça will take on United in the final at Wembley on 28 May.